Student Who Called For Franco’s Dismissal From Voc-Tech Responds

One of the students that called for her resignation is speaking out after the announcement that Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech's Rosanne Franco is stepping down.

JaLoni Owens was one of several students that began an online petition to have the school's academic principal removed after they claimed Franco did not appropriately discipline a teacher that made racially charged comments on Facebook last year.

In written communication with WBSM News, Owens says she's "frustrated" that her friends and herself had to be "threatened, harassed, slandered, and bullied" for the school to do it's job. Owens reports she received repeated threats to her physical safety for denouncing what she calls a "culture problem" at Voc-Tech. She tells WBSM News the culture problem persists, adding it's "hard to fix something that no one will admit is broken."